Jadon Sancho is officially done at Manchester United, and now Fiorentina wants to be his next stop. The Serie A side has made an approach for the 26-year-old winger according to multiple reports out of Italy, shortly after United let him walk for nothing.
Sancho spent last season on loan at Aston Villa, where he picked up a Europa League winners’ medal. But that wasn’t enough to earn a new deal in Manchester. So now he’s a free agent, and the bidding — such as it is — has begun.
What Fiorentina is offering
Fiorentina’s sporting director Fabio Paratici has apparently been a fan of Sancho for a while. The club is prepared to offer a three-year contract, though the terms will have to be significantly lower than the roughly $11 million per season Sancho was pulling in before. That’s a big drop for a player who was once the most talked-about young English talent in Europe.
Sancho hasn’t responded yet. But his camp is expected to work through any concerns in the coming days. Last year he turned down a move to Roma — Gian Piero Gasperini specifically asked for him — and chose instead to stay in the Premier League. Now it looks like he’s finally leaving England.
The long strange trip of Jadon Sancho
It’s been a frustrating arc for Sancho in English football. He came up through the academies at Watford and Manchester City, then did something relatively rare for a British kid his age: he went abroad at 18. Borussia Dortmund was the move, and it worked beautifully.
From August 2017 through the next few seasons, Sancho was electric. Flair, goals, swagger. He piled up 50 goals in 137 appearances for Dortmund across all competitions. He looked like a superstar in the making.
Then came the $95 million transfer to Manchester United in 2021. And it just never clicked. He played beneath that price tag from the start. Loans to Dortmund, Chelsea, and Aston Villa showed flashes here and there but never the consistent version of the player who terrorized the Bundesliga.
Now he’s 26 with 23 England caps and no club. And Dortmund might enter the mix too — they’re reportedly interested in bringing him back again. That would make this the third time around for Sancho in black and yellow.
Does this move actually make sense?
The real question isn’t whether Fiorentina can afford him. It’s what they’re offering beyond a starring role on a midtable team. They’ve made a bunch of signings already this window, but this one has an uneasy feel to it.
Would Sancho take a pay cut? Can he adapt to the pace and tactical demands of Serie A? The German return feels like a more natural fit — a familiar league where he’s already shown he can produce. But Fiorentina is making a real push, and sometimes a fresh start in an unexpected place is what a wayward career needs.
Either way, Sancho has some decisions to make. And for a guy who was once worth nine figures, the leverage isn’t what it used to be.
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